Family Beginnings
by gatehead81
Summary: A few months after Ashley, Magnus takes to spending a lot more time in Henry's company. Naturally this unusual behaviour freaks him out as he thinks he has done something wrong, but all Magnus wants is to say how much she cares and to finally tell him the story of how they came to be a family. Hurt/Comfort/Family. Helen/Henry. Rated K. Complete.


**AN: A few detail before we jump in. Firstly the time line in this probably has Henry being older than he actually is but I'm running on the theory that haps wear well with age and therefore he is actually a little older than he looks. **

**Secondly the DNA medical bit is complete and utter bunk, hooey, piffle, call it what you will, IT IS NOT REAL!**

** And thirdly, this kind of runs all over the show and I probably should have cut it back into full flashback scenes rather than blocks of recanted memories, so bear with the long Magnus speeches, I tried to break them up as much as possible but there is a limited number of times you can allow Henry to either interrupt Magnus or have her smile or be sad...**

**Finally...relax, enjoy and try to ignore the unedited mistakes ;)**

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**Summary: A few months after Ashley, Magnus takes to spending a lot more time in Henry's company. Naturally this unusual behaviour freaks him out as he thinks he has done something wrong, but all Magnus wants is to say how much she cares and to finally tell him the story of how they came to be a family. Hurt/Comfort/Family. Helen/Henry. Rated K. Complete.**

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FAMILY BEGINNINGS

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Magnus decided she had dithered enough and uncrossed her legs where she sat opposite him in his lab. Her presence around her young hap friend was clearly making him nervous, that was the second time he had inadvertently dropped a fragile piece of equipment in the last two days. "I don't suppose I've ever said this out loud before, Henry." she blurted, realising that as probably not the best place to start. She looked over at him where he was fumbling in his toolbox looking for something to fix the broken node he had just picked up. Regardless of the awkwardness of her own voice she pressed on. "I see you as more than just an employee you know." She closed her eyes, well that had certainly came out wrong. Why was this so hard, it should be the easiest thing in the world...the first bit anyhow.

Henry dropped his new sonic screwdriver that was blocking his access to the insulating tape. "Ah...what?" Magnus's voice had gone all weird and stuff, plus he could smell the tension that was starting to build within her. Combine that with the fact that she had practically been following him around all week had him properly worried. What could he have possibly done this time that it was taking her this long to chew him out over?

Helen grimaced slightly when she saw him pale and unable to resist she rose up to come round to his end of the table. "I've known you since you were nothing but a feral scrap. You were completely lost when I first took you up-"

"And I can never thank you enough for that." Henry over honestly told her. He realised it had been a while since he had told her that and was wondering if that was what all this was about...either that or she was actually still mad at him over what happened to Ashley, which was the more likely scenario for her hanging around him so much. When she was angry with him, _really_ angry it always took her a while to verbalise it.

"Don't interrupt me." Magnus chastised, automatic in her reprimand, she hated not being able to finish her sentence, it was discourteous and he knew that.

"Sorry." Henry mumbled and winced when he realised he had just done it again.

Magnus, now round in front of him dropped down to his level. This surprised Henry so much that when he felt his eyes lock with hers he was unable to break the gaze. She was looking at him with an emotion he was not sure he fully recognised. "Doc?" he asked once again aware of her tension.

Helen's mouth softened as she registered the apprehension in his voice that seemed to echo exactly how she felt. He had always been a sensitive one had her boy. She looked down before speaking again but her eyes drifted straight back up as she finished. "You are my son, Henry. Do you know that?"

Again all that came to mind was "Ah...what?" Completely confused Henry could not even so much as form another coherent thought other than he must have misheard.

"Not by blood of course, but you are my own and have been since that very first day. Since the moment you put your head on my shoulder and wept for the loss of all that you ever held dear."

"I don't remember that day." Henry muttered, embarrassed by the notion of how helpless he must have been. His mind was still refusing to register the weight of the other thing that she had said, that thing about being her son. Suddenly nervous he picked at his nails. "I mean I was so little."

Helen knew Henry was running on an avoidance tactic which probably meant he did not believe her so she eased back in. "I know you don't remember that day and you never will...but I will never forget it and I think it's about time you knew how I really feel." She took his face with both hands and made him look up at her. "You are my boy, Henry...the only son I've ever had, we're family."

"Magnus..." Henry felt himself misting up, he tried to stop it from showing but his emotions were building and spilled forth in words that were redirected into a different area, one he knew they were both avoiding. "I've never been so glad to hear you say that we are family because since Ashley..." He stopped speaking in case her memories caused her pain, he did not want that.

Helen was barely able to prevent the sharp intake of breath that the mention of her daughter's name always pulled from her. She knew that Henry would do nothing that would ever hurt her and so he would try to keep his troubles to himself. She did not want that so she cleared her throat and told Henry exactly what she knew he was too unsure of himself to tell her. "Ever since Ashley you've been in terrible pain and suffering...I know how you been feeling, Henry, I have eyes."

Henry let out a wavering sob at her accuracy and allowed Magnus to pull his head close, but there was more to what he was feeling than she had said and now that she had initiated the conversation he felt safe enough to continue it in the most basic of terms. "I'm so sorry Doc, I should have been able to stop it...I should have never let them..."

Helen pulled back sharply and shook Henry's head slightly, commanding his complete attention and cutting off his words. "Absolutely not!" she declared harshly. "You do not blame yourself for this...is that clear?" She held his eye, boring her fury at that very notion into him, making him see that he was not to blame for this.

Henry's lip wobbled before he nodded, stark relief running through him. All this time he had been worried that she blamed him but now he could see that that just was not true. She did not blame him, not even subconsciously and that truth probably meant more to him than anything he had ever learned in his life. There was something else visible in her though and he frowned slightly before shaking his head. "Not yours either." he told her as firmly as he could, his voice coming over a little on the thick side, he swallowed at the lump in his throat.

Helen let out a short rasp of discontent and her head began to drop. His hand came up to grasp her face mirroring her own earlier actions to drive his point home in a way he knew she would understand. "Not your fault either." He continued in a whisper. "It was just a tragic-"

"Turn of events." Magnus finished as she finally sank down onto her knees and leaned into his one remaining hand that cupped her cheek. The words were not right but they would suffice for now.

Henry linked his other hand in hers and pushed out the feelings that were embedded deep in his heart. Talking to Helen Magnus on this emotional level was just not something that ever happened and he was a little unsure if it was a good idea or not but he had to do it, he had to let her see that he got it. "I know how much you miss her Doc...because I miss her too. She was basically my little sister and...well...I loved her."

Helen pulled Henry down off the chair he was on and into her arms properly. "Oh Henry darling, I'm so sorry I should have made myself more available to you."

"It's okay, I understand, you had to deal with this too."

"That's still no excuse." Her hand came to rest on the back of his head and she kissed him softly above the ear. "I should never have pushed you away...you are all I have left Henry and I love you." she whispered, trying hard not to sound as desperate as she felt.

Henry slowly tightened his grip on the woman in front of him. "And you are the only true mother I have ever known and I thank you for that."

"Oh Henry, you don't have to thank me! I would be lost without you."

"But I do. I am so lucky, if you had not chosen to take me in-"

Helen disengaged the hug to regard him with a curious stare. "But Henry, I'm the lucky one. Don't you realise that? You chose me, not the other way around."

Henry blinked.

"It's true, we did not even know you were there, we thought there had been no survivors and then we heard a noise and you appeared out of the undergrowth, weeping and howling and hurt. You ran past the other three, straight over to me and you threw yourself into my arms. From that very moment I knew deep in my heart that I had gained a son." She reached out to stroke his face.

"But my name, Foss...why...if you took me in straight away?"

Helen sighed deeply and closed her eyes. "It was not that simple Henry...things never around here, you know that. I couldn't take you in, not at the time. There was a situation. More commonly referred to now by its cover story, The Cuban Missile Crisis, but that's a tale for another day, my point is I was on a dangerous run of missions at the time and to be perfectly blunt I was pretty sure I was not going to be coming back from the next and the Sanctuary was under constant attack. You needed somewhere safer than I was able to provide. Besides the other heads of house thought it would be best for you to stay in your own country where you might be able to be reunited with your own kind should any other survivors appear...and the logical part of me agreed with them. So even though I wanted to keep you oh so very much I had to do what I felt was the right thing by you and let you go." Helen paused to look at her son. Henry was listening intently and she was not surprised, this was the first time she had ever spoken so freely about what had happened when they had found him.

They were still sitting on the floor and she wanted to get up but his eyes were asking for more information so she continued with just a fraction of hesitation. "Up until recently, that day was one of the most emotionally difficult I had had to endure...the day I gave you up I mean. It had been three weeks since you had found us and you had been with me for the entire time. We had even given up on having a second bed in my chambers, you were just too young. You probably don't know this but haps, as you would call yourself, do not experience any form of physical separation from their maternal parent for the first five years of their life. Lycanthrope mothers are extremely protective of their young and do not leave them alone until they develop the ability to hide their change. It is only at that stage will she bring them out into the open to meet the other members of their clan."

"But I was younger than that?"

Helen smiled. "Yes Henry, you were. You were barely two and had been alone and terrified for probably three whole days. You were exhausted and suffering from what is known as heart sickness. Proteans have loyalty coded into their DNA and unintentional separation can kill if it is not handled in the correct fashion and with extreme care. One element of juvenile protean recovery after separation is bonding reinforcement with the newly chosen parental figure and you had chosen me so I stayed with you...even though I really should have been deep in the middle of Cuba, I stayed."

"Oh Magnus, you did not have to do that." Henry reached out to her again.

"I know, but you had instantly become important to me and I wanted the best for you, but..." Helen sighed deeply, the raw emotions of that time swallowing her again, like she was back there. "I needed to get back, too much was riding on my part in the mission. It was my face there were used to dealing with and only I could keep the peace...and so I was forced to come up with a gradual separation programme to wean you over to your new carer, Eileen Foss. She had three other children, two of them abnormals, other level nine proteans in fact. It took a full month longer than planned but eventually you were content, if not happy, to stay with her when I was out of sight and so I left knowing that in a few more weeks your treatment would be complete and that you would regard Eileen as your mother. It was hard for me, I'll admit." Helen smiled wryly to herself and shook her head. "Eileen said the delay in completing the process was as much about me as it was you. I refused to believe that...but she was right...every day I missed you, just like now every day I miss..."

"Oh." Henry breathed softly, trying to imagine how hard it must be for her to not have Ashley around anymore.

Magnus sniffed and wiped an unbidden tear from her eye before forcing herself up of the ground. "I'm okay." she told Henry when he opened his mouth to tell her that she did not have to continue. "I want you to hear this...it's important that you understand...especially now."

Henry did not understand that last part but knew enough about Helen Magnus to know not to ask, she would tell him if she wanted him to know. He watched as she drifted over to and sat on one of the office chairs he had near the side wall. Quietly he took his own chair and pushed it over to within a few feet of her, he wanted to be near her even if she was not quite ready to continue yet.

For a few minutes they just sat in silence, it was comfortable and there was no pressure on either of them to speak. "You want me to go make tea?" Henry asked eventually. "Because I really don't mind?"

Magnus let out a small laugh. "Oh Henry, you hate tea!"

Henry grimaced. "You know about that, huh?"

She nodded. "I've always known. Even as a small boy you would drink it and spit it out again. I told you repeatedly that you did not have to drink it but because I did, you did."

"And that's why I still do it now." Henry realised. "Even though I really hate the stuff. I never knew that...why did I never know that?"

"Because you are loyal and don't feel the need to question long established habits." Helen reached out and touched his knee. "But you are all grown up now so no more drinking tea for my sake okay?"

Henry nodded emphatically. "That I can do, no problem." but then he realised he would probably miss the stuff.

"Good." She looked up at him. "Ready to hear some more?"

"Only if you are ready to tell. I don't want you getting upset, if..."

"I'm fine darling, but thank you for worrying." Helen settled back a bit and thought for a moment before beginning again with a deep sigh. "Four months after I left you I was flown back from Cuba with some pretty nasty injuries. The worst of it was over and the tide was being turned but I stupidly went back in again alone thinking I could finish it all off for good and save us all some time."

"What happened?"

Helen shrugged. "Basically they blew me up and left me for dead. Ravi found me, got me back here to the Sanctuary. He was just a raw recruit back then but his bravery was greatly rewarded. You've not met Ravi yet have you?"

"No but he's the head if the Mumbai Sanctuary, right?"

Helen winked. "Clever boy...like I said, greatly rewarded. He had to earn it though, but I gave him the chance and he took it. Much like I gave all of the current heads the chance when they were young." Helen's mind ran briefly to Will but quickly returned to where she was now, Henry was fidgeting.

"So you got blew up, Ravi flew you home...then what?" Henry was keen to hear more and Magnus, not that she would ever admit it, loved to boast about her injuries.

"Right, he flew me home...or rather he _had_ me flown home and stayed behind to wrap things up in my stead. I had third degree burns on my left shoulder, shrapnel that needed surgically removed from my arms and here on my neck." She rubbed a non-existent scar just above her clavicle and continued with a slight smile. "Broken ribs from the blast, a bruised hip bone and a fractured right ankle...oh and of course a concussion and five stitches, but that is hardly anything new." She shrugged casually and Henry snorted. "So pretty much as soon as I got back I was confined to my bed and was discontent with being bored. Or at least I thought that was what it was until I woke up from a dream one night. I don't mind telling you that most of my sleep back then was interrupted by nightmares but not that night. That night I woke up smiling for the first time in what felt like ages with a familiar ache that was still quite new deep inside me and knew what I had to do. By the time a certain tall and hairy person who shall remain nameless for the sake of their dignity brought me my morning tea I was already half way to England."

"Ooh, I bet that went down well!"

Helen chewed on her lip. "The words 'lead' and 'balloon' spring to mind, but I did at least leave him a note this time so he forgave me pretty quickly."

Henry gave a doubtful shrug at that one. "If you say so."

"I do." Magnus intoned sharply, pretending to be cross. "Don't doubt me Mr Foss."

Henry smiled at her playful anger. "Oh I never do Doc, I never do."

Magnus failed to hide her smirk as she continued. "So as soon as I landed in Heathrow I took a cab to the family home you were in. Your adoption was complete and they had named you Henry James Foss...well I had named you Henry after my uncle, but you know that already."

Henry nodded he did know he was named after Henry Fox Talbot, an inventor and photography pioneer of 1840's England. "So basically as soon as you could you came back for me and that's when you took me home and we all know the rest from there." the young man assumed.

Helen sucked in a slight breath, they were getting closer to the bit she was dreading, would he really understand why they had done what they had done to him? Would he get mad and maybe never forgive her? She did not want to know just yet and so she spun her story out a little further. "Ah...no, not exactly. You see when I arrived it was evening, the lights were on in the house and the curtains were open in the front room. I could see the four of you in there, you and the Foss's other three children. You were rolling around, playing and laughing and straight away I knew I was being selfish in wanting to take you away from that. From the street I watched you for a while, just to make sure you were truly happy. Then I saw first Philip, the Foss's youngest and a year you senior, change and you followed suit before changing back and I knew you were in the right place. You were in a natural family environment where your abnormal nature was a cherished thing and would be encouraged rather that repressed or hidden. Franklin, the older of the adopted Foss boys was in a mainstream school and very well adjusted despite his horrible start in life and their daughter Gemma, who was their only natural child accepted each of you as her own siblings and looked out for you all. Sweet little thing was just seven when you were there." Helen grinned widely at the memory of the first time Gemma had met Henry. "I remember the first time you two met. Gemma said. "Hey, you want to be my newest brother?" and you, deciding that the answer was no, reverted into your hap state snapped lightly at her. She slapped you on the nose and said "Hey, no changing until you are older and it's rude to bite your sister!" Oh how Eileen and I laughed."

Helen started laughing at the memory and Henry smiled too. "So what happened Doc, if I was so happy how did I end up here?" He really didn't mind hearing these little anecdotes but he needed to know the rest of his story.

"Well...I made my way to the London Sanctuary and surprised the crew there. They fussed and scolded for a bit but then I reminded them who was boss and they left me be. I asked about your welfare and Graham, who was head before Declan, reluctantly brought me your records. Immediately I knew something was wrong. You were still on the separation medication and the dosage was higher than it had been when I left. You should have been completely free from it just a few weeks after I was gone but here you were months later and still taking it. I demanded to know why and really did not like what I learned. It took a little persuading but Graham eventually showed me the tapes. All abnormal adoption homes have them, they are necessary to protect both the juvenile abnormal and the new parents. Anyway it transpired that Eileen had been having trouble with you as the dosage was being lowered. You were becoming more and more distressed and basically there was no doubt you were going to end up hurting yourself or someone else, so they decided that keeping you on the medication was for the best. I suppose she had the other three to think about but from my point of view keeping a child, any child, abnormal in nature or not, drugged was no solution. In my anger I really lost my temper, I even threatened to have Graham fired for keeping thi-"

"Why so angry, Magnus?" Henry interrupted. "Surely they thought it was the right thing to do and you said yourself it was keeping me happy so why so irrational?"

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. "When have you ever known me to be irrational Henry, especially when it comes to medical matters?"

"Never." he answered instantly wondering what had caused him to ask that in the first place.

"Exactly. Drugs are never an acceptable solution when there are other options...especially not that particular drug. You see it was designed to inhibit the loyalty part of your DNA and should have completely rewrote it so that you could accept your new family without suffering through the tail end of a secondary bout of heart sickness. It was a controversial but compassionate, short term solution. The longer you were on the inhibitor the higher the risk that it would permanently damage that part of your DNA strand and leave you unable to trust anyone later on in your adult life." She reached out to him again, taking his hand. "Anything up to six months would be safe for you but any longer and...oh Henry, I dread to think where that would have left you...the shoe? You deserved more than that so you can see why their decision made me so furious."

Henry could only nod, imagining how hard she must have railed to stick up for him. His heart skipped a beat.

"The very next day I demanded a meeting with Eileen to see what the hell was going on and establish why they thought it was acceptable to risk permanent damage to a child I had personally placed into their care."

Henry was not sure what to do with that last fragment of information, in truth the thought that he might be damaged had not occurred to him and it frightened him. "And the drugs, did they? Am I..."

"No, no Henry darling, you were just fine in the end. Can't you tell? There is absolutely nothing wrong with your loyalty, DNA based or otherwise. Just look at how you stepped up to protect Will the other day."

"From that Ooey Gooey Spitball Meerkat thing?"

"The Pharalynx, yes. You did not have to do that but because you care about Will you tried to protect him."

"And we both got covered in Ooey Gooey spit." Henry shivered. "We're calling him Dewey by the way."

Magnus laughed. "That's fine, Dewey is an appropriate name, but you get my point?"

Henry nodded. "Yes, my loyalty DNA is just fine...too fine in fact." he grumbled.

"Right..." Helen rolled her eyes at him. "So when I met with Eileen and her team she was nothing but apologetic and explained that she had wanted to get back in touch with me, to get me back over to be with you again but it had not been possible. I was in too deep in the mission and that she could not bear to see you suffering and chose what she hoped would be the lesser of two evils. It was never supposed to be a long term solution, it was just until I was back and then she heard I had got hurt and begun to panic. It took a lot of patience to hear her out I'll admit but I was glad I did in the end because if I had not and acted purely upon my instincts things would have turned out disastrously."

"How so?"

"You see my instinct was to just go get you there and then but Eileen pointed out something in the DNA inhibition process that simply should not have been there. All the way along the new DNA there was an almost invisible blocker on each of the joins. Something residual...now don't panic Henry, like I said we sorted it all out, you are just fine. But at the time your own body seemed to have partially rejected the loyalty change we were trying to give you. Later research told us that it was a protein released from your original separation from your birth mother that was still lingering but at the time it meant that reducing your medication could have had the same effect as long term exposure. It was a terrible situation Henry, you were just two years old and the results of my trying to offer you a better life had left you in a place where potentially you would have no life at all."

Henry leaned forward to place a hand on her upper arm as she wrung her hands while she spoke, he did not want her getting upset again but he did not break her flow, he sensed she needed to let this out as much as he needed to hear it.

"I worked tirelessly for days, all the time wanting nothing more than to see you but that was not possible. Number one I was too injured to deal with a lively, playful and really rather cute little hapling but more crucially, there was no way of knowing what effect my reintroduction into your life could have. There was the slight potential for a devastating chemical reaction that would destroy that fragile part of you that we were trying so hard to save."

Helen paused again and Henry self-consciously dropped his head as she gazed intently at him.

"Eventually we figured it out. There was a trigger point near the top of the strand that seemed somehow to be impossibly linked to your memories, but the drug was supposed to have completely isolated the affected area in order to begin the rewrite. Something, somewhere was continually counteracting the inhibitors. The only logical suggestion that we could come up with was that you still had something that reminded you of me and that memento was stopping the process from being completed. Eileen searched your room and found something that I know you still have...you probably don't know why you still have it."

Henry cocked his head, curious, he had a lot of old stuff that he associated with Magnus. "What is it?" he asked when she remained quiet, watching him, wondering if he would figure it out on his own. "What?" he demanded.

She smiled. "A pale blue, cotton pillowcase. From the bed that we first shared together that cemented our familial bond."

"Really? That old thing?" Henry sat back in his chair. "Man I always wondered why I could never just throw that thing out."

"Or why you feel like you always have to keep it close by in case someone else finds it and throws it out for you?"

Magnus pointed towards his desk drawer and Henry blushed deeply when he realised she was pointing at the last place he had hidden his pillowcase. "A dude really does have no secrets about this place, does he?"

"Of course not, you installed the security system, no blind spots...remember?"

Henry could only agree with that, it had been painstaking work but there really were none in the entire building.

"Would you bring it to me? Your pillowcase." Helen asked, in that sweet humble sort of way that made most people do most things she asked them to.

Henry hesitated but then rose to his feet. "Ah...sure, just um...just wait there." Reluctantly he brought the precious rag over but did not reach it to her, for some reason he could not bring himself to let it go.

Helen smiled, gazing fondly at it. "You know, that right there is ultimately the reason why you and I are together now as a family." She stretched up her fingers and Henry allowed her to touch the well worn material. Her eyes flicked up to his. "As I told you. You chose me out on the moors and this kept that link alive when we tried to force a separation on you. You must have hidden it out of base instinct, something we would never have credited you with having the cognitive ability to do at your early age, but you always continue to surprise me and you were a most resilient child...I only ever came across one other child who was so resilient...and she no doubt learned it from you." For a fleeting moment Magnus's eyes darkened but then she returned to her story. "And so with a little tweaking of your medication we were able to restore your original DNA and I'm sorry Henry you did suffer for it. We had to make you heart sick again and then have you choose between myself and Eileen."

Magnus could not hold his eye. "You were sick for days...I'm so sorry I had to do that to you...any of it. You didn't deserve it Henry. You chose me and I rejected you and then tried to force you into something you did not and could not accept. I almost killed you and all because you chose to love me."

"Magnus don't say it like that. You make it sound like you were a monster."

Helen's gut swirled. "In a way I was a monster, you were just a toddler Henry. You needed me and I put a mission first. I don't think I can ever forgive myself for that, not really."

Henry made her look up at him. "Well you should. You did what you had to do and if the treatment had worked I would not have suffered. You did not know it would fail."

"Yes but I left before it was finished and that could have been devastating."

Henry smiled, he knew what she was saying and he did not see it that way. "But it wasn't. The fact is you came back for me just as soon as you could and based on what? From what I can gather you acted purely on a gut feeling and the effects a simple dream. You dragged yourself across an ocean with more broken bones and injuries than I care to remember just to see me again. What monster would do that?"

"A very caring one." Helen muttered, conceding to his logic.

"Caring yes, but not a monster. Helen..." he said and swallowed at the use of her name, especially when her face registered such surprise. "Magnus, Doc, Mom, whatever...I don't know what to call you right now but it doesn't matter. What matters is not what you did at the time but rather how you handled it afterwards."

Helen blinked at him.

"Those words sound familiar at all?"

"So you forgive me then, for...for hurting you?" Her bottom lip wavered.

"Of course I do. As far as I'm concerned there is nothing to forgive. All you did was chose to love me back."

Magnus fell into another heartfelt hug. "Thank you Henry, thank you so much."

"So is that it, is the story over?" Henry asked once Magnus had recovered a little.

"Well there is the part where I had to stand around completely helpless while you made your choice again. I've never been more nervous in all my life as I was when we stood in that waiting room and the door finally opened...but you never so much as hesitated, you once again ran straight to me and I was reunited with my son."

There was silence for a few moments as the poignancy of the moment got in under both of their skin. "Wow." Henry finally whispered. "That's ah...that's some story."

Helen smiled softly. "The only thing that Eileen asked of me after that was not to change your surname. She really did love you just as much as I did."

"So that's why I'm still Foss."

"Yes, Foss by name, Magnus by heart."

Henry smiled at that. "Yeah...I've always felt like a Magnus...if I'm honest. Especially when..." once again he stopped himself.

"Especially when you became an older brother?" Helen asked and Henry nodded.

Magnus decided she had one more tiny piece of information to impart to her son. Another detail that she suspected he knew already but needed to hear. "And so two days later I flew you home where you instantly took to this place...and...to a certain large and hairy father figure whom I suspects loves you just as much as I do...but don't you dare tell him I said that!" Helen grinned widely into her warning.

"Oh don't worry, I wouldn't dream of it. He slaps me enough as it is without me telling him something like that."

"You are right there Henry!" Magnus poked him in the ribs. "But there is a second reason why he slaps you. It's the sasquatch way of keeping their children in line. When you were tiny Henry, you were ever so protective, it was so sweet...but attempting to bite each and every one of our house guests who came to visit me was a bridge too far and so he decided to teach you in the only way he could, with all the fatherly instincts he possessed."

Henry was once again completely silenced, he just shook his head a little, trying to get that revelation to make sense...he suspected that might take a little more time. He knew the Big Guy cared, but to think that he seen him as a son...wow! Very cool but wow.

Magnus let out a light laugh as she looked out across the room, she had not been paying attention to Henry's reaction and continued with another pleasant memory. "There was one visitor he did not restrain you from and it really was so funny when you came running in and immediately sized up this particular guest. He got quite the shock when you dared to bite him after he got a little too...interested...in me."

"Who was it?"

"Nikola of course!"

Henry let out a short burst of laughter at that thought. "Really?" he asked gleefully.

"Oh yes, he took an instant dislike to you after that and his voicing of his new opinion of you caused an unholy argument that culminated in him taking off for quite a long time actually...and to be truthful, after what he said I was not all that sorry, he was a little out of control in those days..." Magnus frowned slightly before coming back to gaze at him. "But never mind that now...my point is, Henry..." She pushed to her feet and gripped him firmly by the shoulders. "You chose me as your mother above all of those who would try to be and for that I have never felt more honoured in my life."

Henry blushed right in to his hidden hap fur. "Well I...I..." but what could he possibly say to that?

"It's okay, Henry, you don't have to say anything. It's just that..." Henry watched as pain clouded over her features. "If I had handled things different with Ashley and not kept the truth from her maybe things would have worked out differently..."

Henry's instinct was argue but knew better than to try to deny her words.

"She was attempting to prove a point in taking on the Kabal and it was based in anger and resentment...I don't want that to happen to you." She looked up at him again. "I really don't Henry, that's why I've been hanging around for a few days...trying to build up the courage to talk to you...to explain that I left you behind, I didn't want you hearing it from someone else and getting it all wrong and think that I didn't love you enough, because I did, right from the very start."

"Hey, hey, hey..." He moved closer to her again. It was not often she displayed this level of uncertainty and he would not have it. "You don't ever have to hesitate in talking to me. I think of you as my mother as much as you think of me as your son. You can always tell me anything and I will still be loyal to you, DNA or not. There is nothing you could ever do or say that would change how I feel about you."

Magnus sighed and Henry was so surprised by her obvious relief that once again he did not quite know how to react.

"Thank you for that Henry...I honestly thought you would blame me for what happened and that thought was..."

"Never!" Henry pushed the hair back from her face. "You, me, Ashley and the Big Guy...we are family, the four of us." His voice broke off as he realised he said 'are' and that they were not four any more.

"And now we are missing one." Helen whispered, her voice full of pain.

"Yeah...but we still got each other, and we will remember her every single day for the rest of our lives."

He pulled her close and Magnus rested her head on his shoulder. "Every single day." she agreed. "And we've got the others." she voiced, brighter than she felt and straightening up.

"The best bunch of cousins we could hope for." Henry smiled briefly and Magnus face broke out into a grin.

"Oh, Henry! You do have a way about you. Come on." she said tugging him towards the exit. "Now that I've got that off my chest I'm feeling rather hungry. Shall we go see if our 'cousins' want to grab a meal out on the town tonight?"

"Alfredo's?" Henry asked hopefully.

"For six...you must be joking!"

"Six?" Last time he checked there was only five of them. Her, Will, the Big Guy, Kate and himself. He frowned and questioned her with his eyes.

Helen smiled at him, her 'here-comes-the-best-bit' smile. "Nikola should be arriving any time now."

"Oh ma-an!"

"That's right. And I want you to play nice...just bear in mind you already got to bite him once, that's more than he ever got to do to you...which is a good thing given that he is a vampire! Now go put away your pillowcase and I'll have the others meet us in the lobby."

Henry bristled inside at the thought of sharing a table with Tesla but attempted to settle himself, unconsciously rubbing his pillowcase against his chin. If the woman walking away from him wanted him to behave then he would just have to do that. After all his mother, the one he was surprised to learn he had chosen for himself, meant everything to him and he would never, never be disloyal to her.

END

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**AN: Please take a few minutes to let me know what you think...**


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